The Old Switcheroo
Cobra's New York consulate is attacked by revolutionaries, but the Baroness's main problem is closer at hand. Issue summary In New York City two vans, one for Penultimate Pest Control and the other for the Cerberus Security Corp, radio time checks between each other as they approach the Cobra Consulate. The vans turn in different directions and activate radio silence. The Penultimate van heads to the checkpoint and the guard confirms they are due to deal with the basement. Once inside the raiders note how they found out which company had the pest control contract and hijacked a van. Meanwhile on schedule the Cerberus van rams the main entrance. Raiders disembark from both vans and head for the boiler room where they rendezvous and announce Phase One of their plan complete. On the top floor the Baroness receives a report that the body of one of the raiders showed evidence of being from Sierra Gordo. The Baroness takes her personal security team to handle the situation herself. In the boiler room the raiders are planting explosives and adjust the surveillance cameras to make a transmission. The Baroness receives the transmission on a monitor to learn that the raiders are Menshevikistas - university student revolutionaries from Sierra Gordo who see themselves as the rightful heirs to the revolution and oppose Cobra's support for the current regime. They have installed explosives that can bring down the entire building in one go and demand that Cobra withdraw its support. Dr. Mindbender produces the plans for the building and explains that the raiders know what they're doing. The Baroness contacts Serpentor on Cobra Island but the Cobra Emperor tells her to sort it out herself or be replaced by someone who can. Zarana is pleased at this turn of events. Across the street a Joe surveillance team monitors the situation. Dial-Tone reports on the arguments between the Baroness and Zarana and Psyche-Out explains the Baroness can't back down from the confrontation and will likely act according to prediction. In the consulate lobby the Baroness dispatches a Viper team to storm the boiler room to see how serious the revolutionaries are. But the answer is tough. In retaliation they detonate explosives in the Cerberus van that is still in the lobby. The Baroness orders an evacuation with an armed perimeter around the block, whilst Zarana argues the revolutionaries are too bourgeois to take their own lives. The evacuation proceeds with most troops leaving their position including those on the roof. Psyche-Out orders Tunnel Rat and Breaker in the sewer to cut the building's power lines. Both Cobra and the revolutionaries assume this is the action of their foes. The Joes don powered hang-gliders and fly over to the consulate building. Meanwhile in the boiler room Juan confronts Evita about her willingness to go through with the threat. She pounces on the detonator to show how committed she is. Meanwhile in the lobby the Baroness and Zarana continue arguing about who is in charge. On the roof Dial Tone installs a bugging device whilst Lady Jaye produces a black wig and glasses from her pack. Down in the sewer Breaker and Tunnel Rat repair the power line. The revolutionaries see the Baroness on the monitor - in reality a disguised Lady Jaye - and she declares Cobra will not deal with them and challengers them to blow up the building, saying they are pampered middle-class children. In the lobby the Baroness sees the signal and realises it's an imposter. When Zarana points out the revolutionaries don't know this, the Baroness pounces on her. In the boiler room Evita grabs the detonator and triggers it. But it's not explosives that were planted but riot gas. The Baroness leads the Cobra forces out of the building, all temporarily blinded. The Joes come through the lobby in gas masks and Chuckles explains that he sold the gas to the Menshevikistas, telling them it was C-4 plastic explosives, and even helped plan the mission and draw up the wiring diagrams. Psyche-Out did the behaviour profiles that worked it out. It was a complicated way but they needed to clear the building so they could plant the bug unnoticed. Featured Characters Featured Vehicles & Equipment Memorable Quotes Baroness: 'We're being blackmailed by radical yuppie terrorists! ''(Cue facepalm) Errors Items of note *'''First Appearance: Psyche-Out *In the United Kingdom the story was reprinted in the Action Force Annual 1989. Footnotes Category:Marvel Comics issues